Gerard Craft of Niche(1831 Sidney Street; 314-773-7755) is one of five finalists for the 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards in the category "Best Chef: Midwest." This is the third time that Craft has been a finalist for the award, following nominations in 2009 and 2010.

Craft was in a meeting when he heard the news: "It was exciting," he tells Gut Check.

"It's all awesome to hear," Craft says of the accolades. "I think our team has been working so hard the past year. I think we've all been trying to push ourselves. We don't need the awards, but it's a nice pat on the back."

Craft's fellow finalists are Justin Aprahamian of Sanford in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Colby Garrelts of Bluestem in Kansas City, Missouri; Tory Miller of L'Etoile in Madison, Wisconsin; and Lenny Russo of Heartland in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The winner will be announced at the awards gala in New York City on Monday, May 7.

Craft was one of four St. Louis chefs who were semifinalists for the award, along with Josh Galliano of Monarch, Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Café and Kevin Willmann of Farmhaus.

In addition, Salt was a semifinalist for the "Best New Restaurant" category but didn't make the cut to five finalists.